Too Much Caffeine?
by BlueKiwi34
Summary: Cafe AU. Jonty. Monty becomes concerned at the amount of caffeine one of his customers seems to be taking in. Rated M for swearing, because I'm paranoid.
**A/N: Not my characters unfortunately**

Monty didn't usually stare at customers. But this one was cute, and so he'd been staring on and off for the last hour.

The café wasn't very busy – mid-afternoon Thursdays never were – and Monty had only had to serve a few customers and wipe down a couple of tables, meaning he could stare at the cute guy as much as he liked.

He was slight and lithe, with dark hair that hung over his eyes and a generous mouth. Head bent over his lap, Monty couldn't see if he was reading or checking his phone or what. What Monty _could_ see was the small huddle of empty coffee mugs on the guy's table, yet he couldn't seem to work up the nerve to go and collect them.

Monty had been open about his sexual preferences for a while now, had even been on a few dates. Nothing had stuck though, much to his disappointment.

With his elbow on the counter, his chin propped up in his palm, Monty glanced around the café, double checking that there were no crumb-covered tables or coffee spills on the floor that needed sorting.

The soft clearing of a throat made him blink and breathe in deeply, pulling his attention back to the counter in front of him. His hand clenched instinctively around the cloth he was holding. The dark haired boy was stood in front of him, chewing his lower lip nervously. Monty had to stop himself from mirroring the action.

"Uh, hey. Could I get a large black Americano please?" The boy's voice was deeper than Monty had imagined, throwing him off guard.

"Yeah! Sure! Uh … you sure?" Monty winced and then gestured uncertainly at the guy's table. "That's a lot of coffee."

"Yeah …" The guy smiled ruefully, still glancing over his shoulder at his table. "Recent break-up pushed me to college work. Not much else to do. I write better when I'm, you know, like this." He gestured vaguely to the coffee machine.

Monty knew it was bad. Knew it. But the words 'recent break-up' had his ears perked up before he could help it. It was practically synonymous with 'single'. He fought a blush, ashamed of himself.

"Dude, you're on like your eighth." Monty laughed breathily over the words. "Should I be worried?"

"Pfft. Maybe." His customer grinned back, an eyebrow quirking beneath his dark hair. He held out a hand over the counter, slender fingers tight together. "Jasper."

"Monty." The barista slid his hand into Jasper's, surprised by how warm it was. "You still want that coffee?"

Jasper sighed and grinned, his breath hissing through his teeth as he looked straight at Monty. "Maybe a diet coke will do."

Monty tilted his head down and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, water." Jasper amended, earning a smile.

On pure impulse, Monty also served up a jam doughnut, on the house. Jasper's face lit up and the look he gave Monty made the barista feel as if Jasper had just leant over and kissed him on the cheek.

"You have an adorable smile." Monty blurted, and then felt his eyes widen at the same time Jasper's did. "Shit, I'm sorry. That was – I didn't mean it – well I did mean it, but I didn't mean to _say_ it. Out loud. To you." _Shut up._

Jasper waited for Monty's stammering to calm down before he replied "I'm glad you think so."

Neither boy tried to focus too much on the way their hands touched as they exchanged the money for the water, but they were both aware of it.

"Um." Monty's brain spat out a half-formed plan, and his mouth had decided to follow it through. Jasper turned back to look at him, the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. _Nice mouth_ , Monty noticed appreciatively. "I was thinking maybe you should give me your number," Jasper's eyebrow quirked again, eyes dancing. Monty's palms were sweating like no one's business – he hoped he didn't get any orders soon; he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep hold of the mug. "You know, so I can check up on you later, make sure all that caffeine hasn't done any damage."

"Well, I can't deny a concerned member of staff his peace of mind, can I?" Jasper winked – yes, _winked_ – as he set his things back on the counter and took out a pen.

Once he'd finished writing down his number on a napkin – careful to keep it legible – he handed it over to Monty with a smile.

As he turned to walk back to his seat, he tossed over his shoulder; "But, Monty, if you ask me out – which I really hope you do – you best let me drink as much coffee as I like." The sing-song quality of his voice brought a smile to Monty's face.

"That can be arranged." Monty replied shyly to the boy's retreating figure.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll be waiting for your text." Jasper smiled as he sank back into his seat, wide enough for Monty to see across the café.

Monty quickly took out his phone, added Jasper's number and typed out –

"Hey."

The reply was immediate, although Jasper never looked up.

"Dinner, tonight, 7?"

Monty couldn't help look up and call "You're on" across the room, earning him another flash of that brilliant smile.

An hour later, as Monty's shift finished, his replacement was stunned to find the usually quiet boy humming to himself. A glance at the table in the corner showed why.


End file.
